


Summer ends.

by orphan_account



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon Divergence - Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future, Gen, Trans Dipper Pines, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 09:56:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21195767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Alternate sad ending of Gravity Falls. Pretty much exactly what it says on the tin.





	Summer ends.

A week had passed since he had accepted Ford's apprenticeship.

Dipper and Mabel's birthday had come and gone, but for the first time he could remember, there had been no laughter, no... Mabel. All because he had decided to stay. It was tearing him up; he was barely sleeping, spending hours in his room agonizing over all the things he’d said, all the things Mabel had said. After the huge fight, she had actually moved into Ford's old room. Ford mostly fell asleep in the lab, so he hardly noticed. Dipper couldn't avoid it. Waking up without Mabel bouncing off the walls nearby everyday, without her smile in the mornings… Not that she’d be smiling now, as sulky as she was. He told himself he was just getting a head start on having a room to himself. He'd have to get used to it eventually.

On the morning Mabel left, Dipper didn't so much wake up as not sleep. Here it was. Last chance to change his mind. He thought he could stick with his decision, but as he stared at the ceiling, Dipper knew that there was just as much chance that as soon as he saw her all packed up, he’d cave, gather his stuff, and join her. He wasn’t sure which would be worse: that, or watching her leave. As he sat up, rubbing his eyes, he stared at Mabel's empty bed, just like every morning. Maybe he lingered there a little longer, prolonging the inevitable. 

Finally, he got dressed and headed downstairs slowly, dreading the goodbyes. Would she even say goodbye? When he got there, Mabel was already packed, sitting in the kitchen, just staring down at the tabletop. The bus wouldn't leave for another twenty minutes. "How long have you been up?" Dipper asked. No response. He had to be a bit impressed: he'd never seen Mabel so quiet for so long. Then again, they had never had a fight like this. "Look, I know you're mad at me. And you're gonna be mad for a while, and I get it. Change is hard. But… this isn't the end, Mabel. You can still visit during the summer, and we can email each other... It doesn't have to be like this." He didn’t really expect a response. After a moment’s pause, he started pouring himself some cereal.

Mabel looked up, a few strands of hair in her face, and spoke. "You're right. It doesn't. Come back to Piedmont, and I won't have to be mad anymore." Mabel offered, her voice cracking with her desperate last offer. Dipper stared at her, then down at the floor. So that was it. This was the moment, the last chance to change his mind. It wasn't too late. He could pack up, say goodbye to the Grunkles, promise to send them a postcard. He could hop on the bus with Mabel and go home. He thought of the time he'd have with Mabel, growing up together, supporting each other through all the awkward teenage years to come, and beyond.

But.. It would still be Piedmont. Where everyone knew him by a name that made him gag, and called him worse things when Mabel wasn’t around. Piedmont, where his parents were always away on business trips or late night meetings. Where the most supernatural thing for miles is the abandoned KFC down the road. 

He couldn’t throw away his whole life, his dreams for that. And here in Gravity Falls, Dipper wasn't the freakiest thing around. In fact, for the first time in his life, Dipper felt like he belonged somewhere, like he was meant to be here. He couldn’t afford to ignore that.

He told himself, Mabel would be fine. She'd be so popular in high school, she'd barely have time to miss him. She belonged in Piedmont. "You know why I can't do that." Dipper said, quietly but definitively. Silence fell again. He had lost his appetite. Dipper got up and rinsed the his cereal down the sink. Mabel checked the time, then stood, grabbing her bag. "...I'm gonna miss you," Dipper said quietly. He wanted to go in for a sibling hug, but the look on her face discouraged him before he'd even taken a step. "Bye, then," He mumbled, looking at the ground. "I'll take care of Waddles for you." When Dipper looked back up, she was gone.

He shook his head. It was okay. This would be okay. They both just needed time. He kept telling himself that. He started to walk to the attic, then paused, and headed to the room Mabel had been sleeping in. He wasn’t sure what possessed him to do it, but he just went with it. She had left her scrapbook-diary on the ground. He picked it up. The last page just said “Today, I lost my brother.” No illustrations, no photographs, sequins, or glitter, nothing. 

Dipper set the book down. He walked up to his room numbly and laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

He wasn’t sure how long passed, or what he’d even been thinking about. He just vaguely recognized that the tears on the sides of his face were starting to dry. “Bill?” Dipper called out quietly, after a long silence. The world went gray, and a hole in the universe built itself up piece by piece into the familiar fashionable triangle, twirling his cane.

“Well well well, look who’s finally ready to hear me out!”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed the whump :)
> 
> Unfortunately, there is not going to be a sequel to this or further chapters. This has been in my drafts folder for literal years, and was originally supposed to be start of an ambitious series, back in 2015. However, it never came close to being complete for a number of reasons, and as time has passed and this series becomes less and less relevant, I decided it was time to either delete or publish it as is (well, I polished it up a bit, but y'know). And I figured I'd put enough work into it, I might as well put it out and hope that somebody at least enjoys the short read.


End file.
